St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-09-25
COOPERATION.
Some of the Salient Points Of the
j. p. McGauchey Report.

Some of the Salient Points Of the
j. p. McGauchey Report.
Some 1000 answers have been re-
ceived in answer to the following circu-
lar of inquiry which j. p. melancholy.
secretary of the general cooperative
board of the Knights of Labor. sent out
last February:
To what extent does cooperation exist in
your jurisdiction in relation to the following
particulars: % Social, educational or rec
reative societies; (2) productive cooperative
workshops; farming and agricultural So
what basis are these established? q. e., how
are the profits divided, etc.o Give the num-
Der of these societies. What is the total mem
bership of each? What have been the trans
What profits have they realized during the
past year? Are all these societies registered
by law, or do they exist independently? Upon
what terms can any person become mem
you consider that these societies have upon
the general well-being of the people in en-
couraging thriftiness and economy
From these replies Mr.. McGaughey
will make up his report which will be
submitted to the board next Monday be-
fore the general assembly meets. Com
menting in general terms, Mr.. Nc
Gaughey says:
Taking these reports and financial state
ments as basis, l find that cooperative in
dustry furnishes to laboring men and me-
chanics the best opportunity to procure an
experienced business insight, and instils
healthy business ambition into the minds of
those whO if not thus personally interested,
would never give such questions a thought.
The most important feature of these indus
tries is the moral one. They Undue our mem
bers with a spirit of fraternity, while at the
time thew 70
power to remedy existing social evils. Co
operation is having marked effect already
on our people, and they are becoming less III
clined to incur debts and more anxious to
manufacture and exchange their own
products.
The report cites some prominent eX-
amples of the success of cooperation as
applied to mercantile and manufacture
ing enterprises. For instance: The
| Trenton, n. j., cooperative store shows
remarkable growth. On Jan. l, 1886,
its membership was 193 AT the end of
store in any of the great cities of The
country which supplies so many fami-
lies. The paid up capital of the con-
Germ Jan. l, 1856, was 2,43O9 81: Jan. l,
1887, it was $5,7S7.1 The premises
now occupied by the store were pur-
cha..sd for $4,000. The profits for the
eight months preceding Jan. 1, 1886,
were 81. 473.70. During the year 1886 the
profits were $7.061.73. The Toronto,
Can, Central Cooperative society re-
ports sales for the half year ending June
80. 1885, to have been sl2, 5G7, and for the
previous half year, so, 1885. The num-
Der of members Jan. l, 1885, was 293.
At the end of the. year there were
800. The Michigan City, Ind, Co
operative Reed Chair company is
sues stock only to members. of the K. of
L. By its constitution one-third of the
profits goes to stockholders, One-third to
employees above their wages and the re-
manning third is placed to the credit of
the factory. The company began bust
ness Aug. 4, 1856. Up to Dec. 81 of the
same year the business transacted
amounted to $1,000, on which there was
a profit of 25 per cent. AT the time of
the report there were $50 members. The
Raleigh, N. g.. Cooperative Tobacco
Its entire capital stock is owned by 100
In 1886 the goods sold amounted to
s1O,314.47, on which there was a profit
over all expenses of $685.. A. The Full
son County Cooperative Leather, Glove
and Mitten factory, of Johnstown, NY,
was organized Aug. l, 1886, and has now
225 members and $4,000 capital. Its
business UP to Jan. 1, 1887, amounted to
$1,000 and the profits above all expenses
were 1894. Probably the only co-opera-
tive bank in the country is the Patrons
Cooperative bank, of Olathe, Kan. The
report of the institution made July l,
1896. shows paid in capital stock of
S13,940, with deposits amounting to
S7O, SS5.40.